


peacetime

by mitzvahmelting



Series: peter & loki [1]
Category: Marvel
Genre: Gen, Melancholy, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Old Friends, Parallel Universes, Speculative
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 20:51:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15614754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitzvahmelting/pseuds/mitzvahmelting
Summary: "Do you sometimes find it comforting that there are universes parallel to this one?"





	peacetime

One evening, when the dishes are all cleared away and most of the other Avengers have retired to their quarters for the evening, Loki asks, out of the blue, “Do you sometimes find it comforting that there are universes parallel to this one?”

Peter looks up from his tablet to study the ageless God, who is standing sort of stranded in the kitchen, wearing casual slacks, blouse, and collar. He understands why Loki would ask such a question. This evening marked the three-decade anniversary of the day his punishment was handed down from the Asgardian courts: imprisonment on Earth, bound by magic chains to work under the command of the Avengers.

Peter had been just a boy, then. He’d never known an Avengers tower without Loki in it – quiet, subdued, pseudo-dangerous Loki. Like a pet wolf, Loki is someone familiar and warm, part of the fabric of their daily lives, but bonded to them only by the strength of his collar.

 _Do you sometimes find it comforting that there are universes parallel to this one?_ It makes sense that now, more than usual, the bonds are chafing, and Loki must be yearning for something greater than the life he’s been dealt these past years. Peter doesn’t relate to the feeling, exactly. He does sometimes find it comforting to think of there being parallel worlds where his family lived, or where he never grew apart from his high school friends. But he knows that the Peter of those universes is someone different, someone whose path diverged from this universe irreversibly. Peter suspects that Loki, on the other hand, feels more in common with his hypothetical parallel selves; in Godhood there is more continuity of identity, as far as Peter understands it.

At the very least, Loki’s face would be identical across universes and time periods.  He looks the same today as the day they first met, so many years ago. He looks the same as he did on the day of the Chitauri invasion, if only a bit better rested, with softer clothing, and kinder eyes.

“There may, in fact, be parallel universes,” Peter admits, as he stands from the sofa, tucking the tablet under his arm. He is taller than Loki, by a few centimeters, a feat which had been cause for celebration and snarky banter back in his youth. Now it only makes him wonder how long he’ll maintain the advantage, before age catches up with him, and the cartilage in his spine finally wears down.

Loki meets his gaze. As always, the God seems timeless, but he is also… tired, the rims of his eyes red and weary, the warm glow of the old-fashioned incandescent bulbs casting a golden hue over the collar. “And yet?” prompts Loki softly, “I sense a hesitation, Peter.”

Thirty years, Loki has been in this tower; the most consistent presence in Peter’s life by far. Knowing Loki, knowing the stories of the time before his imprisonment, Peter can guess what Loki longs for in those imaginary universes. A path where he was free.  Peter places a hand on Loki’s shoulder, feeling the thin fabric of the blouse and the cool, healthy skin and muscle beneath. “Even if such parallel worlds exist, you shouldn’t bother coveting them,” Peter advises him, gently, as an old friend.

“And why not?” Loki demands, with a dismissive sniff, belying his fondness.

“Because,” Peter says, with a bitter smile, “you’ll find that even apex predators live far longer in captivity than they do in the wild.”

There is a cruelty in the warning that Peter hadn’t wanted to give voice to. But, more than anything, he wants Loki to understand that _you’re safe here, and sometimes happy. Isn’t that more than enough? Isn’t that better than a universe of cruelty, where life would be nasty, brutish and short?_

His companion lets out a slow breath. Peter pulls away, crossing the room to set the tablet in its dock on the kitchen counter. “Goodnight, Peter,” says Loki, sweetly, though he is still standing there, musing contemplatively in the living room. Peter could set his watch by Loki’s sessions of brooding melancholy. It is, as always, a comfort to know a man so reliable.

“Goodnight, Loki,” Peter replies. “Sweet dreams.”

**Author's Note:**

> hey look, fic that i'm actually happy with  
> please comment if you liked it  
> my tumblr is [here](http://mitzvahmelting.tumblr.com)


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